Red Cross responds to triple typhoons

Publicado: 8 agosto 2012 13:42 CET

Floods triggered by typhoons have inundated large parts of the Philippines, including the capital, Manilla. Philippine Red Cross (PRC) mobilised more than 300 staff and volunteers to help the evacuation and deliver relief aid. Mollie Godinez/PRCS

By Afrhill Rances and Joe Cropp

Red Cross societies in the Philippines and China are providing emergency relief to flood affected communities after triple typhoons swept across the region, triggering torrential rain, floods and landslides.

In the Philippines, the rains have swamped a large portion of Metro Manila, and killed more than 50 people throughout the country.

Typhoons Saola, Damrey and more recently Haikui have brought the heaviest rains the Philippines has seen in three years, affecting 1.2 million people across the country. Nearly 242,000 people are seeking temporary shelter in 614 evacuation centers.

Philippine Red Cross (PRC) mobilised more than 300 staff and volunteers to help with the evacuation and deliver relief aid to flooded communities.

Red Cross rescued more than 1,000 people and assisted in the evacuation of another 8,000. More than 8,000 people have already been provided with emergency food packages or hot meals.

“Our specialized staff and volunteers were quickly deployed to provide immediate assistance to the affected families,” says Gwendolyn Pang, Secretary General of PRC.

In Taiwan, where at least six people where killed, heavy rains caused by the typhoons touched off widespread mudslides, forcing the authorities to evacuate more than 1,500 people island wide.

The three typhoons went on to hit China’s eastern coastal regions, with 23 people already confirmed dead and nine others missing. Rainstorms and mudslides have destroyed nearly 30,000 houses and damaged at least 32,000 others. Over 420,000 residents have been forced to relocate.

The Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) has provided tents, blankets and clothes to flood affected communities in Liaoning Jiangsu and Shangdong provinces.